Locking mechanism for the spare tires of automobiles



Jan.- 19 1926.

C. A. GODSHALK F Au'rouolms LOCKING MECHANISH FOR THE SPARE TIRES 0 Filed Sept. a, 1924 Patented Jan. 19, 1926.

UNITEDA STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOCKING MECHANISM FOB THE Application led September To all whom itmag/ concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE A. GOD- SHALK, a citizen ofthe United States, residin at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadephia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locking `Mechanism for the Spare Tires of Automobiles, ofwhich the following is a specification.

It is common practice to support a spare tire for an automobile and its demount-able rim, upon a carrier located at therear or the side of an automobile, to which the said rim is fitted and on which it is held by clamping means of one sort or another that are secured b a pad lock or other form of key-operated ock. This arrangement offers a certain'- amount ot. protection against theft of the spare tire, but skillful thieves have been able to circumvent the security offered by locking devices of this character, and it has followed that locking means such as referred to have beenv supplemented or superseded by the use of a chain that is caused to encircle the tire and some fixed partof the car, the endsV of the chain bein secured together by a lock. A loose chainfhowever, has features that are undesirable or, objectionable to many users of automobiles.

My present'invention has for its object to provide tire securing and locking means having the advantages of both the forms of lock that have been referred to, and which besides is simple in construction, offers great security against theft and unauthorized removalof the spare tire, is noiseless in that it does not rattle, has no loose or swinging parts, and in which the several tire securing and locking elements are held together and in lace by a single key-operated lock.

n the. accompanying drawin f Figure l is a cross sectional view through a spare tire and tire carrier showing my improved locking means in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the locking means.

Fig. 3 is a -vertical sectional view on the line III- III of Fig. 2.

Fig. 1-is a horizontal sectional view on the line V-V of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation illustrating a different embodiment of the invention.

Fi 6 is a sectional view taken on thel line VI--gVI of Fig. 5.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, designates the snare tire sup- SPARE TIRES oF AUTOMOBILES.

s, 1924. serial No. 736,554. l

ported upon a rim 2 that in turn is mounted upon the tire carrier 3, which may be located at the rear of the automobile or upon the v I running board thereof. This tire carrier includes a bracket fitting f1 represented as being secured t'o the part 3. by bolts 5. A bolt 6, preferably screw-threaded at its outer end, extends outward from the base of the upright portion of the bracket 4, that is, the portion that is radial with reference to the curved carrier 3. A holding piece or clamp 7 fits over the bolt 6 and is secured against the outer face of the upright part ofthe bracket 4 where it is held by some locking means, such holding piece engaging with the outer circumferential edge of the rim 2 on which the tire is supported.

The parts thus far described are of well known construction and are standard equipment upon many makes of automobiles.

vI prefer that the cla-mp or holding piece 7 vbe formed of channel-bar metal so as to have flanges 8 alongits opposite edges.

9 indicates the casing of a key-operated lock. It is represented as being formed with a projection 10, that may beintegral with the lock casing and which is internally screw-threaded, fitting it to engage with lthe screw-threaded bolt 6. The. extension 10 thus becomes a nut which, when screwed upon the bolt 6, operates to force the clamping member 7 into position to hold the tire and its rim in place on the carrie-r. Y

11 indicates a removable pin that is adapted to be inserted into a suitable aperture providedv-therefor in the lock casing and to be therein securely held by the internal lock mechanism within the casing 9, which is adapted to be operated by the key 12. The

character of this lock mechanism is not indicated, as it forms no part of the present l through an aperture 13 in the bracket 4, and

also through a registering aperture 1A in the clamping piece 7 when such piece 1s made suiliciently long to extend past the aperture 13, as is usually the case.

When the nut 10 is screwed upon the pin 6 sufficiently far to secure the clamping piece in position to hold the tire upon the carrier and to such position that the opening for the pin 11 in the lock casing 9 is in alignment with the a ertures 13 and 14, the pin is passed throug the said apertures and its end inserted inw -the lock casing where 1t is secured by the internal, lock mechanism. The pin and the lock thus, through engagement with stationary parts of the tire car-- rier, securely hold the nut against being turned.

i.' The features just described constitute the ,subject matter of Patent 1,491,691, dated April 22, 1921-, to C. A. Godshalk.

designates a band of iieXible, although rather stiff. steel, which has been treated to render it 4eaceedingly hard so .as to be r'esistive to the action of cutting tools. It is preferably of a Width to fit rather snugly between the flanges 8 of the clamp or ho ing piece 7. In'one end of the band 15 is tformed a perforation 16 adapting such end to fit over the bolt 6. The band is Shaped so that it will encircle the' tire, as represented in Fig. 1, and its upper or free end is perforated, as at 17, so that the locking pin. 11 may be passed through such perforation. The extreme portion of the free end bf the encircling band 15 is bent so that when brought to locking position as'represented in Fig.` 1 it lies between the upper parts of the flanges 8 of the clamp piece 7.

In using the invention as described, the ltire and its rim are rst slipped upon the holder or carrier 3, and the clamp 7 put in position upon the bolt 6. The encircling band 15 is then applied, as indicated in dot- 'ted lines in Fig. 1, the end perforated at 16 being slipped over the bolt 6; then the nut 10 is .screwed upon `the bolt 6, forcingthe clamp in place and securing the tire rim upon its seat on the holder, and also securing ythe clamping band 15 at one end. The free end of theV clamping band is then sprung into place from the position indicated in dotted lines,lFig. 1, to that shown in full lines, and then the locking pin 11 is inserted, passing through the apertures in the bracket 4,

In the form of invention illustrated in .'Figs. 5 and 6 my invention has been designed to be used in connection with a pad lock. The same reference letters are used in these views as are employed in-those that have been already referred to, so far as theV parts shown are identical in the two forms `of invention.

' In Figs. 5 and 6 the casing of the padlock is designated` 9 and the hasp thereof, 11',

the latter corresponding in its functions to ,the removable pin 11 in the form of the invention first described. The hasp is arranged to pass through apertures 13, 14 and 17 formed respectivelyY in the bracket, the clamp piece 7 and the free end of the encircling band, as has already been described in the irst referred to form of invention. In this second form of the invention I prefer that the end of the encircling band, in which is formed the aperture 16 and which `passes over the screw-threaded bolt 6, should be extended somewhat and perforated as indicated at 18 so as to be in alignment with the apertures 13, 14 and 17, as represented in Fig. 6.

The advantages incident to the form of invention first described are incident to the second form as Well.

While I have repre-sented as the preferred embodiment of my invention an arrangement in Which that end of the encircling band designated 15 is the free end, it is evident that the conditions shown might be reversed and the end that passes over the screw-threaded Abolt 6 be the free end, or the one last to be secured in position.

What I claim is:

1. In locking means' for the spare tire of an automobile, the combination with a carrier on which a tire and its rim may be placed, a bracket secured to said carrier, and a clamp piece 4rfor engaging With the tire rim and 'holding it upon the carrier, 0f. a free metal band for encircling the tire, and a keyoperated lock arranged to unite the clamping piece and also both ends of the encircling band to the bracket yand to retain these in operative positions.

2. In locking means for the spare tire of an vautomobile the combination with a carrier on which the Wheel and its rim may be placed, av bracket secured to the carrier, a screw-threadedl bolt extending from the bracket and a clamp piece arranged to engage with the tire rim and hold it upon the carrier, of a free metal band arranged to encircle the tire and prevent its removal, a nut to engage with the screw-threaded bolt and operating to hold one end of the encircling band and also to force the clamp in position to secure the spare tire on the carrier and a key-operated lock arranged to unite both the nut and the free end of the encircling band with the bracket and thus retain theml in operative positions.

3. In locking means for the spare tire of an automobile, the combination of a carrier on which the tire and its rim may be placed, a bracket secured to the said carrier, a bolt extending outward from the bracket, a clamp piece-holding the tire rim on the carrier, supported by the said bolt, a free metallic band for encircling the tire havin one of its ends also supported by the said bolt, and a lock having a portion that engages with both the clamp place andthe free end of the encircling band when the latter is in position encircling a tire, and unites them to the brackets of the tire carrier.

4. In locking means for the spare tire ot.

an automobile, the combination of acarriei on which the tire and its rim inaY be placed, a clamp piece having flangesat itsedges whereby it is ot channel foi-in, arranged to engage with the tire rim and hold it in place on the carrier. a screw and nut for unitingl the clamp piece lo the carrier and forcing it into )osition lo lioldthe tire riin` a metallic band im' cncii-cliiigtlie tire. thcl opposite ends o l which are adapted to rest in the channel oi the claii'ip piece. one i end ol the band being held in said channel by thc screw and nut that t'oiccs the clamp piece into holding' position, and a lock`t'o1" uniting hoth the clamp piece and the tree end of the encircling band to the carrier and preventing them from moving' relative to each other and to the carrier.

5. The combination with a carrier yon which the vehicle tire and its i-ini may be placed. a bracket secured to the carrier. a screw-threaded bolt extending' outward vfrom the bracket` a clamp piece adapted to be slipped over the bolt and engage With. the edge of the tirerim to force it. into place on the carrier,A a lock casing;r provided with a projection that is screw-threaded and adapted to engage with the said bolt whereby it serves as a nut to force the clamp piece into holdingv position, a metallic band adapted to encircle the tire, one end being secured between the said nut and the clamp piece when-the nut is screwed on to the bolt, the 'ti-ec end ot the band being adapted to be brought into engagement with the clainpA piece above thebolt.v anda movable pin adapted to pass through aligning openings in the bracket` the clanip piece and the free cud of the encircling band. and enter the lock casing where it is secured bv the loci: mechanism. the lockthus serving' to hold iii position to secure the tire both the clamp piece and the encircling band. v

(i. lii locking iiieaiis for the spare tire of an automobile` the combination with a carrier on which the tire and its rim ii'iay be placed, a bracket secured to the carrier and a CLARENCE A. GODSHALK.` 

